Giving Compass' Take:

• This article by Daniel Gotoff and Celinda Lake from The Marshall Project was published in mid-November, just after the midterm elections and before The First Step Act was passed, but the argument that public opinion about criminal justice is more progressive than government attitudes remains relevant.

• Politicians are lagging behind the public on support for changes in the criminal justice system. How can nonprofit organizations take initiative on this issue in the absence of public sector leadership?

• For more  on voter support for criminal justice reform, click here.

The results of the 2018 midterms are decidedly mixed. But while pollsters and pundits work to make sense of exactly what happened, one clear winner has emerged since Nov. 6: criminal justice reform.

Several state ballot measures reforming the criminal justice system passed with flying colors around the country. Floridians restored the right to vote to people with felony convictions; Louisiana abolished convictions based on non-unanimous juries; Washington state tightened up police accountability; and Colorado removed language in the state constitution allowing prison labor without pay.

The voters are ahead of politicians when it comes to criminal justice reform. Recent research we conducted for the Pretrial Justice Institute found that solid majorities of voters support major reform of the criminal justice system in the United States (57 percent), including nearly one-in-five voters (19 percent) who support a complete overhaul of the system. This sentiment crosses partisan lines, too, with majorities of Democrats (64 percent) and independents (58 percent) and nearly half of all Republicans (48 percent) backing the call for major reform of the criminal justice system.

Politicians ignore the pressing need for criminal justice reform at their own peril. If they aren’t motivated by a personal sense of morality, or at least by the desire to conserve government funds, then the public’s clear desire for reform ought to catalyze their action. Change is coming and politicians of both parties can help lead the way—on a path trail blazed by voters.

Read the full article about criminal justice reform by Daniel Gotoff and Celinda Lake at The Marshall Project